Bench stand table lift



May 31, 1949. H 2,471,955

BENCH- STAND TABLE LIFT Filed Feb. 1, 1946 INVENTOR.

RQYBERT L. HATCH M Zf Patented May 31, i949 BENCH STAND TABLE LIFTRobert L. Hatch, Orange, Mass, assignor to Rodney Hunt Machine Company,Orange, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 1,1946, Serial No. 644,814

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and improved table lifts for bench stands.

The principal object of the invention includes the provision of a. fixedbench stand having a table lift at each side thereof, each lift beingindependently raised or lowered under control of an operator, thecontrols for raising and lowering the lifts being mounted on the benchstand to promote efliciency by permitting the operator to work at thestand and on one lift while the other lift is being loaded or unloaded,and to simultaneously operate the lift controls.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of a new andimproved bench stand table lift wherein the table in lowermost positionis flush with the floor to provide easy access there.- to by workhandling trucks; the provision of a bench stand table lift comprising anelongated tube secured to the floor and depending therefrom, said tubehousing a non-rotatable screw meshing with a rotatable nut driven by amotor, the latter being controlled from a bench above the floor, saidtube being provided with limit switches shutting on" the motor at boththe uppermost and lowermost limits of travel of the lift.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 isa View in elevation illustrating the construction and operation of theinvention; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section showing the operation mechanism of one ofthe lifts.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a floor It! on which is supported astationary bench l2 for the purpose of providing a work table for theoperator. At each side of bench l2 there is provided a lift table l4,these lift tables being substantially alike.

Each lift comprises a gear housing it having a flange l8 bolted to thefloor H] at the underside thereof. Each housing is provided with asidewall carrying a bearing 20 for a shaft 22, shaft 22 mounting apulley 24. The pulley is operatively connected to a pulley 26 on theshaft of a motor 28 mounted on the flange plate I8, as is clearly shownin Fig. 1.

The gear casing I6 is open at the bottom and is closed by a plate 30,this plate 30 carrying a bearing 32 cooperating with a bearing 34rotatably mounting an elongated nut 36. The nut is provided with a gear38 meshing with a similar gear on shaft 22.

Nut 36 meshes throughout its length with a heavy screw threaded rod 40.Rod 40 is housed in an elongated tube 42. The tube is secured in acentral depending flange 44 on plate 30. The flange 44 mounts a key 46in a key-way 48 in the screw threaded rod 40 so that as nut 36 isrotated the rod 40 is moved up and down without rotation.

Rod 40 mounts the table l4 at its upper end and this table in itslowermost position fits into a cutout 50 in the floor so that the tableis exactly flush with the floor. Limit switches 52 ion the tubes 42 stopthe motor when the tables M are either flush with the top of the benchstand or with the floor, so that skids 54 may be quickly and easilypicked up by trucks.

The lifts are controlled by start and stop switches 56, located out ofthe way but conveniently to the operator under the top of the benchstand.

The present invention will be seen to provide a convenient mechanism forfast eflicient work wherein the operator may work at the bench onmaterial from the uppermost lift while the other is down and beingunloaded and loaded. The operator does not have to wait for a lift to godown and be reloaded before proceeding.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the controlsfor the lifts. The stop and start switches 56 are very convenientlylocated on the stationary bench stand, so that the lifts aresimulaneously controllable to be placed at any desired height, and atthe same time, the limit switches stop the lifts either flush with thebench stand top or flush with the floor.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do notwish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than asset forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

In combination with a floor, a bench stand table lift of the characterdescribed comprising a housing secured to and supported from the underside of the floor and including an enlarged upper portion serving as agear casing for a lift actuating means and an elongated tubular memberdepending frorn the gear casing, a vertically reciprocable tablesupporting rod extending through said floor and into said tubularmember, said rod being externally threaded, an internally threaded nutrotatably mounted within said gear casin and coacting with saidexternally threaded rod, means for actuating said nut to rotate thesame, said actuating means including a beveled ear housed within saidcasing, said gear being mounted coaxially with the nut and externallysecured thereto, and a drive shaft extending laterally through the gearcasing and provided at its inner end with a second beveled gear meshingwith the first beveled gear, coacting means carried by said housing andsaid rod comprising a key and a keyway for preventing rotation of saidrod while permitting vertical reciprocation of the 4 rod, and a tablecarried by the upper end of said rod, the upper surface of the floorbeing recessed to receive the table flush with the floor.

ROBERT L. HATCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,248,659 Irrgang Dec. 4, 19171,467,652 Reedy Sept. 11, 1923 2,004,060 Brown June 4, 1935

